Kakashi watched as Hana left out the window. He kept staring long after she was gone. Then he snapped out of it as Inari's mother dropped a pan on the floor. He glanced down at the bird she brought him. Her thoughts on the bird were crazy, but probably true. It had been a spy for Itachi.

---

Naruto laid on the ground, breathing hard. He was out of breath from trying to make it up the tree. He opened his eyes when a shadow passed over him. Hana's breath was blowing his hair down over his face and he smiled and sat up. He rubbed her head and allowed her to curl up on his lap. "Hey, Hana." He spoke softly.

Naruto smiled at her again as she made a purring sound. She yawned and closed her eyes, gently placing a tail on his arm as she did so.

Sasuke watched as Naruto closed his eyes, probably speaking with Hana. He snorted softly and looked back at the trees. His was full of kunai marks, same as Naruto's, but he had gone a little bit farther up.

Then the blond opened his eyes and looked down at Hana. He looked up at the tree, face contorted into a thinking look. He slid Hana off his lap, and she squeaked indignantly. She huffed and wandered over to Sasuke. Sasuke leaned down to pat her, but she backed up a bit, just out of reach.

Sasuke frowned but then nodded and sat down when she did so, allowing her to sit on top of his lap. He sat cross-legged, and she settled down like she did with Naruto. She closed her eyes and let one of her tails rest on his arm. He was transported back to where he had gone before, and empty room with a slate in front of him. He watched as words wrote themselves on it.

Hello, Sasuke. It's good to see you again. Would you like some assistance with this exercise?

The raven nodded and he could tell she was smiling. He watched as she wrote some more, an invisible force doing so.

I taught Naruto the same thing. However, since you pick up on things more quickly, I expect you to help him afterwords. If not, I won't teach you this.

The last Uchiha hesitated. Why would he help the dobe? He supposed the fox had a point, though. He was a prodigy. And the blond idiot was his friend. Maybe he could help him get enough power to get close enough to his brother to….yes. He would start helping Naruto with his training. Maybe by doing so, he would be able to learn more himself.

You have made your decision, then? Good. I will help you, so listen well.

---

When Sasuke opened his eyes he saw Naruto looking at both of the trees. Almost the same exact position he had been in before. He glanced down at Hana and smiled. She had taught him exceptionally well. He had thanked her right before she sent him back to his body.

Sasuke carefully lifted the slumbering fox off of him, gently placing her on the ground. She didn't wake up, but a smile and purr emerged instead of a growl. He quickly put his calm mask back up and stood.

"Dobe."

"Teme."

Sasuke recalled what she told them and ran at the tree. Focus on only centering your chakra and the tree. You are the only things right now. He kept running, flipping out a kunai from his pouch and getting it ready. Let yourself feel your chakra as if you were holding it in your hand. He was a few feet away now. Sense your surroundings, taking in everything. Don't let yourself get overwhelmed. He hit the tree and ran up. He took all her words and teachings into account and managed to make it a couple of feet from the top.

When he flipped down, he finally let other things in. He had felt how much chakra he had needed to stay properly on the tree. The letting nature in helped. Sasuke shook his head and looked over to Naruto. He had made a mark close to the top, too. Sasuke grinned and went again, this time making it to the very top. He clung to the little twig of a limb and was somewhat startled to find that he could see for miles up here.

Naruto, on the other hand, was still frustrated. Sasuke had beat him, and it was his fault. He ran at the tree for a third time since Hana had helped him, and he cleared his mind of all thoughts. He made it to the same point, but not all the way up like the raven. He growled when he dropped to the ground again. He wasn't good enough.

But he would be work at it if it was the last thing he ever did.

--

The real Hana was still with Inari. She didn't want to move him, since he was clearly exhausted. Who knows why, but he was. She somehow withheld a growl from her stomach. Great, now she was hungry.

She sent off another clone to hunt. She closed her eyes and became one with nature. If anything came within twenty yards of them she would know. Soon enough the clone came back, a squirrel locked in her jaws. The clone dropped it lightly at her paws and nodded, one paw up. She let it go and it disappeared with a little trace of smoke.

Hana ate slowly, not wanting to wake the boy with her chewing. The animal she caught was nice and meaty, a great catch for a small meal. She savored the meat, careful not to get any blood on her white fur or the child.

Finally Inari woke up. Thankfully, she had already cleaned up her leftovers. Not a trace of it could be found. He stretched his arms out, startled when they lightly hit her fur. He twisted around, staring at her. Then he remembered what happened before and smiled.

"Thank you" he spoke quietly. "I needed someone to comfort me." His small face contorted into a scowl when he remembered that he had always relied on others to protect him.

She tilted her head. In just a few seconds, his emotions went from dead calm to deadly rage and frustration. She rubbed her muzzle against his face, absently wondering if he should let him in or not.

She made her decision when he started crying again. A new tail sprouted, and she laid her fourth tail on his lap. He wiped his eyes and looked down at it in slight confusion. Then he placed a hand on it.

--

Sasuke was leaning against his tree, absently petting Hana's clone. He didn't know it was a clone, but it still calmed him down some. He watched with a smile as Naruto came closer to making it to the top. It didn't take much to encourage him. He just needed some taunting from his rival.

Naruto grimaced as he ran up the tree again, making it a bit higher. He was almost there. He knew it, too. Then he flipped backwards off the tree and landed hard on the ground. He jumped up, running at the tree yet again. Come on, dobe. How are you ever going to be Hokage if I beat you at everything? He was halfway up now. Oh, I know! I'll become the next Hokage, and you can work for me! Three-fourths of the way up. It's my new dream! Hokage before Naruto! Said blond finally made it up the tree. He held onto the thin branch, glowing with pride.

He didn't make it before Sasuke, but he still made it. It was a very happy moment for Naruto. Because now he could do more. With this chakra control he could utilize more of it, making his attacks more dangerous than before. He smiled and looked around, mesmerized by the beautiful sunset.

His stomach had to ruin the moment. "Shut up. I know you're hungry." He leaped down, using his newfound control to use other trees. His decent was much better than the assent. He looked at Sasuke and was about to brag when he saw the other boy gazing off into space, petting Hana. But that wasn't what stopped Naruto from speaking his words.

Sasuke was smiling. It wasn't a huge smile like Naruto had on most of the time, but it was still a smile. It was a calm, peaceful, happy smile. Naruto realized that Sasuke had helped him. And he fell for it, learning what to do because he didn't want Sasuke to become Hokage before him. Or at all, for that matter.

He spoke without thinking, then. "Thank you, Sasuke."

He blinked. He never thought he would here those words from Naruto. Ever. Especcially his actual name. He was always referred to as teme. He almost threw that back at him, until he saw that the blond meant it. He nodded and accepted it. "You're welcome….Naruto."

Okay. Few things. Remember when I had Hana make a shadow clone in the previous chapter? That's why the clone had to sleep afterwords. She has a TON of chakra, but when she splits it up it does become a smaller amount. And it takes a large amount of chakra to talk to them in their minds. That's why. xD

Let's see. Um, and about the ending of this chapter. I needed to have them a bit closer. Just a glimpse of their friendship. Because even though their paths are different, they are still friends. At least in the still sane part of the manga they are.

I like writing for Kakashi. Because everyone interprets him differently. And everyone might be correct. Because I love Kakashi, he's my favorite character (Temari close second). He might very well be wicked amazing and nice at the same time. But on the other hand, he might not care for Naruto and Sakura. He might just want to honor Obito, and be caught up with Sasuke. Afterall, he did show Sasuke favoritism in the chunin exams arc. He used the excuse of not wanting him to leave for more power, but really, who knows.

And into Sasuke's mind! He does go a bit OOC in this chapter. Sorry. But it is my fanficion story, and I say in this story, that is what he thinks right now! Obviously you know what's going to happen soon! Can't wait for this part to be over, though…;; I want to get back to Konaha quickly. So expect the next chapter to wrap up the wave country! It'll probably be the longest chapter so far haha.

Till next time,

~Benji